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This Is Still Our Favorite NYC Video Of All Time
By
John Del Signore
Published May 22, 2015
Modified Oct 11, 2018
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 22, 2015
Modified Oct 11, 2018
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It has come to our attention that this amateur video, which surfaced on YouTube and went viral back in 2013, is not immediately familiar to every New York City resident with ears. That's unacceptable, because it embodies everything we love about life here in this dirty town: the abrasiveness, the passion, the cruelty, the unrelenting demand for excellence, the unwillingness to tolerate mediocrity, the NYU film school graduates. We do not condone the actions of this irate critic of live trumpet music, but we applaud his artistic standards.
The star of this video was later revealed to be one Douglas Levison, who responded to his sudden Internet celebrity by posting this message on Facebook: "PLEASE NOTE / THERE HAVE NOT BEEN - NOR WILL THERE EVER BE - ANY COMMENTS FROM ME TO DIGNIFY ANY - OR ALL - OF THE INSANE, OUTRAGEOUS RESPONSES SENT ABOUT A VERY MINOR SITUATION IN PASSING THAT HAS BEEN BLOWN COMPLETELY OUT OF PROPORTION. IT IS ALSO PHENOMENAL THAT PEOPLE WOULD PRESUME TO HACK IN AND SEND REPLIES IN MY NAME. ALL OF YOU WHO DO NOTHING MORE - OR BETTER - THAN TO SERVE AN ILLUSION WILL RECEIVE EXACTLY WHAT YOU DESERVE."
However, reached by phone by an anonymous YouTube user (who unfairly edits themselves out of the exchange, sparing their own voice from the City's exacting standards) Levison explained that this trumpet player wasn't just soiling the air with his bad brass vibrations, he also almost ran over Levison with his bike. Here's a recording of the call, in which an unapologetic Levison briefly opens up about the incident, then goes back to living a life of uncompromising aesthetic elegance most of us couldn't even begin to understand.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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